Mobile communications

ABSTRACT

A mobile videophone capable of transmitting and receiving information in mobile telecommunications systems, particularly cellular radio networks. The videophone includes a first portion and a second portion, the second portion being rotatable with respect to the first portion, the second portion including a camera for image capture, the camera including a lens, the second portion being rotatable with respect to the first portion from a first position, in which the camera lens is protected by said first portion, to a second position in which the first portion does not protect the camera lens.

This is a national phase application, filed under 35 U.S.C. §371, ofInternational Application No. PCT/GB00/04482, filed on Nov. 24, 2000,which was published in English, and which claims priority of BritishApplication No. GB 9927796.4, filed on Nov. 24, 1999.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a portable image capture device including afirst portion and a second portion, the second portion being rotatablewith respect to the first portion, the second portion including a camerafor image capture. More specifically but not exclusively, the inventionrelates to portable videophones capable of receiving and transmittinginformation in mobile telecommunications systems, such as cellular radionetworks. Such devices may be referred to as mobile videophones.

The inclusion of a video camera and display in a mobile telephonehandset so as to allow mobile video-conferencing has been proposed invarious documents.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,444 (AT&T) describes a communicator having anopenable cover which contains an LCD-type display and a video camera. Inthis document, the video camera is reorientable when the cover is open,and the communicator includes mechanical apparatus interactive with theclosing of the cover to reset the camera to a standard position afteruse.

A further form of mobile videophone is proposed in PCT publicationnumber WO97/26744. This documents describes a portable telephone havinga display and a camera mounted in the main body of the phone. The camerais mounted on a rotational pivot to enable it to receive images fromvarious directions.

SUMMARY OF CERTAIN INVENTIVE ASPECTS

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a portableimage capture device including a first portion and a second portion, thesecond portion being rotatable with respect to the first portion, thesecond portion including a camera for image capture, the cameraincluding a lens, the first portion including a display for viewingimages captured by the camera, the second portion being rotatable withrespect to the first portion from a first position, in which the cameralens is protected by said first portion, to a second position in whichthe first portion does not protect the camera lens, the device includingmeans responsive to rotation of said first portion with respect to saidsecond portion, the means being responsive to rotation of said secondportion beyond a predetermined position to invert an image produced bysaid camera.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided aportable image capture device including a first portion and a secondportion, the second portion being rotatable with respect to the firstportion, the second portion including a camera for image capture, thesecond portion being rotatable with respect to the first portion from afirst position to a second position, wherein said device includes meansresponsive to rotation of said first portion with respect to said secondportion from said first position to switch on said camera, saidresponsive means being responsive to rotation of said second portionbeyond a predetermined position to invert an image produced by saidcamera.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided amobile videophone including a main body portion and a camera housingwhich is rotatably mounted on the main body portion, the main bodyportion being generally elongate and having a top, a lower end, twosides and a front surface on which a display is mounted, said housingbeing mounted on one of said sides, the videophone including meansresponsive to rotation of the camera housing with respect to the mainbody portion beyond a predetermined position to invert an image producedby the videophone.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing, in which an embodiment of the invention will now bedescribed, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of the functional elements of avideophone in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an embodiment of videophone in accordance withthe invention; and

FIG. 3 is a detailed perspective view of a camera portion of thevideophone shown in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN INVENTIVE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of the main functional elementswhich may be included commonly to the different embodiments of theinvention, which elements are each individually known and will not bedescribed in detail herein. A main processor 36 may be a conventionalprogrammable microprocessor, or a special purpose or speciallyconfigured unit (e.g. a digital signal processor) could alternatively beused. A read-only memory (ROM) 38 is connected to the processor 36 forthe storage of control programs, data and images. The ROM 38 can beimplemented by any appropriate technology, for example, by a flash PROM.A random-access memory (RAM) 40 is connected to the processor 36 via abus 42, is used as a working storage and for the storage of data andimages captured using a CCD video camera 24.

Signals relating to the data captured by the camera are passed via acamera interface 44 to the processor 36 to be processed. The camerainterface 44 also provides the video codec 46 with a digitalrepresentation of the captured data from the camera 24, where it can besuitably processed for display and/or transmission to the mobilecommunications system. An indicator light may be connected to theprocessor to report successful capture of data and/or images from thecamera 24 and may also be used during video conferencing to indicate thecorrect usage of the device.

The camera interface 44 carries out all the necessary signalconditioning as required on receiving images from the camera 24. Signalconditioning will depend on the exact configuration of the camera butpreferably comprises signal conditioning to enable accurate analogue todigital conversion with sufficient buffering of the captured data. Thecamera 24 will include all the necessary support circuitry to produce afully functional camera delivering a fully formatted video signal. Thecamera 24 may also include circuitry to regulate the voltage for powersupply control and a suitable output buffer to directly drive a standardVDU should the videophone be connected to an external device.

The camera 24 is rotatably mounted on the videophone to allow adjustmentof the orientation of the camera to enable the user to point the camerain alternative directions. The positioning of the camera 24 can beadjusted manually. The rotational position of the camera is detected bya rotation sensor, which feeds an output to the processor 36 wherebyoperation of the camera may be controlled in dependence on therotational position of the camera. The processor 36 may switch thecamera on in response to rotational movement of the camera. Theprocessor may also control an image manipulation to flip an imageproduced by the camera in response to detection of the camera in acertain rotational position or range of positions. Such an imageinversion is preferably performed by means of software-based dataprocessing in the videophone before the image data is transmitted to theother party.

The on/off button 29 is connected via a suitable interface to a powercontrol module 50. The power control module 50 responds to the operationof this button in a powered down state to connect the battery 32 to theprocessor 36. The power control module 50 may also control the chargingof the battery 32. The power control module 50 will also control thepower requirements when a standard AC/DC power supply is connected tothe videophone.

A display interface 52 connects a graphics display 26 via the bus 42 tothe processor 36. The display interface 52 responds to instructions fromthe processor 136 to drive the built-in display 26 in a conventionalmanner. The display interface 52 may also incorporate the necessarycircuitry to drive a standard external video display unit via a suitableconnector 54. The display is capable of displaying still and/or videoimages captured by the camera 24.

The display 26 is provided with a touch-screen. A touch-screen interface55 couples the touch-sensitive display 26 to the processor 36 via thebus 42. The touch-screen is a device independent of the video display26, for example, a transparent touch-screen membrane is placed over thedisplay 26 and connected appropriately.

The processor 36 can be arranged to transmit to the display 26 a menu ofuser selectable items, and to be responsive to a location at which thescreen is touched for input of the user selection of an item. Thetouch-sensitive screen can then thus be used as a dynamic andreconfigurable user interface. Touch-screen entry can be used in placeof or in addition to the entry's commands from an external keyboard orvoice command if appropriate. Additionally, the touch-screen area can beconfigured as a general purpose scribing area to allow entry of data andwritten commands.

An audio interface 56 connects the audio receiver means, consisting ofone or more microphones 18 and audio transmitter means such as one ormore ear-pieces and/or speakers 16 to the processor 36 and carries outall the necessary signal conditioning as required to output audiosignals and to receive audio signals.

The videophone includes infra-red data reception and transmissioncapabilities and a suitable infra-red interface 60 is provided. Theinfra-red interface connects an infra-red port to the processor 36 viathe bus 42.

A radio-frequency (RF) interface 62 is also connected via the bus 42 toconvert any data to be transmitted into signals for driving an RFtransmitter 64, and converts signals from an RF receiver 66 into data tobe passed via the bus to the relevant interfaces. The RF transmitter 64and the RF receiver 66 are connected to a radio antenna 28. This RFinterface 62 consequently enables wireless communications between thevideophone and the mobile communications system, to allow thetransmission and reception of still and/or video images to and fromother similar videophones via the mobile communications system.

The processor 36 is programmed by means of control programs and datastored in the ROM 38 and in use, the RAM 40, to receive signals from thecamera 24 via camera interface 44, to interpret those signals and toderive data therefrom which are displayed on display 26 and which can bestored in the RAM 40 or any other suitable memory device.

Other interfaces may be included to increase the flexibility of theunit, for example, RS232 interface 58 may be included, for transmittingand receiving data in RS232 format. The RS232 interface enables theprocessor 36 to be connected via the bus 42 to allow the connection ofother compatible devices to the videophone through a standard RS232cable.

Depending on the refresh rate used and the number of pixels used in theimages, video image data transmitted and received by the videophone mayrequire compression for transfer via a low data rate radio channel, suchas those currently available in known cellular radio networks. The videodata may be compressed using the MPEG-4 standard. Alternatively, thevideo images captured may be compressed into a different format suitablefor transmitting the data derived across the mobile communicationssystem, such as that disclosed in International Patent PublicationWO95/20296.

FIG. 2 is a plan view from above of an embodiment of a portablevideophone 100 in accordance with the invention. The videophone includesa main body portion 102 housing the display 26 on its front surface. Agenerally cylindrical camera housing 104 is rotatably mounted to thebody portion 102. The camera is housed behind a lens 106 which is builtin to the housing 104. The body portion 102 is generally elongate andhas an upper end 108, in the area of which the housing 104 projects fromthe left side of the body 102. A protective shoulder 110 located at theupper end 108 projects from the same side of the body 102 above thehousing 104, and is arranged to fit flush with the upper surface of theprojecting part of the housing 104. An earpiece housing a loudspeaker 16is located on the front surface of the body 102 in the area of the upperend 108. The body 102 has a lower end 112 in the area of which amouthpiece housing a microphone 18 and control buttons 114 are located.

The housing 104 is rotatable about an axis generally perpendicular tothe upper end 108 of the body 102, from a protected position in whichthe camera is directed towards the upper end 108 and the lens is hiddenbehind the shoulder 110, clockwise (when viewed from the left side ofthe body 102) through a position in which the camera is directed towardsthe front of the body 102, a position in which the camera is directedtowards the lower end 112, and a position in which the camera isdirected towards the rear of the body 102. The housing is thus rotatablethrough at least 270 degrees.

The shoulder 110 generally protects the housing 104, and in particularacts as a rigidly mounted lens cap to protect the camera lens 104 whenthe housing is rotated to the protected position, which is shown ingreater detail in FIG. 3. As further shown in FIG. 3, the housing 104also includes a frictional contact means 116, producing greaterfrictional force on manual manipulation than the remainder of thehousing 104, at the outer periphery of the housing 104. The frictionalcontact means may for example be in the form of a rubber o-ring securelyheld on the housing 104.

The rotation sensor 48 is capable of sensing when the housing 104 islocated in the protected position, in response to which the processor 36may automatically switch off the camera 24. Similarly, when the housing104 is rotated from the protected position, the processor mayautomatically switch on the camera 24. Furthermore, the rotation sensor48 is capable of sensing when the camera is directed towards the rear ofthe body portion, in response to which the processor may initiate animage inversion, or flip, to be carried out at the camera interface 44or the video codec 46 before the image is coded by the codec 46.

The invention is not limited in application to videophones. Aspects ofthe invention may be implemented in other types of portable devices,such as still and video cameras.

It is to be understood that the embodiments described above arepreferred embodiments only. Namely, various features may be omitted,modified or substituted by equivalents without departing from the scopeof the present invention, which is defined in the accompanying claims.

1. A portable image capture device including a first portion and asecond portion, the second portion being rotatable with respect to thefirst portion, the second portion including a camera for image capture,the camera including a lens, the first portion including a display forviewing images captured by the camera, the second portion beingrotatable with respect to the first portion from a first position, inwhich the camera lens is protected by said first portion, to a secondposition in which the first portion does not protect the camera lens,the device including a processing device responsive to rotation of saidsecond portion with respect to said first portion, the processing devicebeing responsive to rotation of said second portion beyond apredetermined position to invert an image produced by said camera.
 2. Adevice according to claim 1, wherein the camera lens is protected by aprotective portion of said first portion in the first position.
 3. Adevice according to claim 2, wherein the protective portion is rigidlymounted to said first portion.
 4. A device according to claim 2, whereinthe protective portion is integrally formed on the fist portion.
 5. Adevice according to claim 2, wherein the second portion is mounted to aside of the first portion, the second portion projecting from the sideof the first portion and the protective portion also projecting from theside of the first portion.
 6. A device according to claim 1, wherein thefirst portion is generally elongate having an upper end and a lower end,said second portion being mounted in the area of said upper end.
 7. Adevice according to claim 6, wherein the first position is a position inwhich said camera faces in a direction of said upper end with respect tosaid lower end.
 8. A device according to claim 1, wherein saidprocessing device being responsive to rotation of said second portionfrom said first position to switch on said camera.
 9. A device accordingto claim 1, wherein the second portion is rotatable with respect to thefirst portion by at least 180 degrees.
 10. A device according to claim9, wherein the second portion is rotatable with respect to the firstportion by approximately 270 degrees.
 11. A device according to claim 1,wherein said device is a videophone.
 12. A portable image capture deviceincluding a first portion and a second portion, the second portion beingrotatable with respect to the first portion, the second portionincluding a camera for image capture, the second portion being rotatablewith respect to the first portion from a fist position to a secondposition, wherein said device includes a processing device responsive torotation of said second portion with respect to said first portion fromsaid first position to switch on said camera, said processing devicebeing responsive to rotation of said second portion beyond apredetermined position to invert an image produced by said camera.
 13. Amobile videophone including a main body portion and a camera housingwhich is rotatably mounted on the mail body portion, the main bodyportion being generally elongate and having a top, a lower end, twosides and a front surface on which a display is mounted, said housingbeing mount on one of said sides, the videophone including a processingdevice responsive to rotation of the camera housing with respect to themain body portion beyond a predetermined position to invert an imageproduced by the videophone.
 14. A portable image capture deviceincluding a first portion and a second portion, the second portion beingrotatable with respect to the first portion, the second portionincluding a camera for image capture, the camera including a lens, thefirst portion including a display for view images captured by thecamera, the second portion being rotatable with respect to the firstportion from a first position, in which the camera lens is protected bysaid first portion, to a second position in which the first portion doesnot protect the camera lens, the device including means for determiningrotation of said second portion with respect to said first portion, themeans for determining rotation being responsive to rotation of saidsecond portion beyond a predetermined position to invert an imageproduced by said camera.
 15. A method of capturing images, comprising:providing a portable image capture device including a first portion anda second portion, the second portion being rotatable with respect to thefirst portion, the second portion including a camera for image capture,the camera including a lens, the first portion including a display forviewing images captured by the camera; rotating the second portion withrespect to the first portion from a first position, in which the cameralens is protected by said first portion, to a second position in whichthe first portion does not protect the camera lens; and inverting animage produced by the camera if the second portion rotates with respectto the first portion beyond a predetermined position.
 16. A portableimage capture device including a first portion and a second portion, thesecond portion being rotatable with respect to the first portion, thesecond portion including a camera for image capture, the cameraincluding a lens, the first portion including a display for viewingimages capture by the camera, the second portion being rotatable withrespect to the first portion from a first position, in which the cameralens is protected by the first portion, to a second position in whichthe first portion does not protect the camera lens, the device includinga processor configured to control inversion of an image produced by thecamera in response to rotation of the second portion with respect to thefirst portion.
 17. A portable image capture device according to claim16, wherein the processor is responsive to rotation of the secondportion with respect to the first portion beyond a predeterminedposition.
 18. A device according to claim 16, wherein the camera lens isprotected by a protective portion of the first portion in the fistposition.
 19. A device according to claim 18, wherein the protectiveportion is rigidly mounted to the first portion.
 20. A device accordingto claim 18, wherein the protective portion is integrally formed on thefirst portion.
 21. A device according to claim 18, wherein the secondportion is mounted to a side of the first portion, the second portionprojecting from the side of the first portion and the protective potionalso projecting from the side of the first portion.
 22. A deviceaccording to claim 16, wherein the first portion is generally elongatehaving an upper end and a lower end, the second portion being mounted inthe area of the upper end.
 23. A device according to claim 22, whereinthe first position is a position in which the camera faces in thedirection of the upper end with respect to the lower end.
 24. A deviceaccording to claim 16, wherein the processor is responsive to rotationof the second portion from the first position to switch on the camera.25. A device according to claim 16, wherein the second portion isrotatable with respect to the first portion by at least 180 degrees. 26.A device according to claim 25, wherein the second portion is rotatablewith respect to the first portion by approximately 270 degrees.
 27. Adevice according to claim 16, wherein the device is a videophone.
 28. Aportable image capture device including a first portion and a secondportion, the second portion being rotatable with respect to the fistportion, the second portion including a camera for image capture thesecond portion being rotatable with respect to the first portion from afirst position to a second position, wherein the device includes aprocessor configured to switch on the camera in response to rotation ofthe second portion with respect to the first portion from the firstposition, and wherein the processor enables, in the case of rotation ofthe second portion with respect to the first portion, inversion of animage produced by the camera.
 29. A portable image device according toclaim 28, wherein the processor is responsive to rotation of the secondportion with respect to the first portion beyond a predeterminedposition.
 30. A mobile videophone including a main body portion and acamera housing which is rotatably mounted on the main body portion, themain body portion being generally elongate and having a top, a lowerend, two sides and a front surface on which a display is mounted, thehousing being rotatably mounted on one of the sides, wherein thevideophone includes a processor enabling, in the case of rotation of thecamera housing with respect to the main body portion, inversion of animage produced by the camera.
 31. A mobile videophone according to clam30, wherein the processor is responsive to rotation of the secondportion with respect to the first portion beyond a predeterminedposition.